Xion led me through the palace and I did my best to keep my mouth shut and my eyes open. I scanned for windows and small doorways that could be used as quick getaways, areas where guards were not currently roaming, places where the shadows of large pieces of furniture might offer a safe place to hide. I could feel the headache coming on within minutes. This place felt far too elaborate to map out mentally in one or two strolls. I would need a few tours and probably a few pieces of parchment to sketch on.

And when my mind grew tired or when I spun my thoughts in so many directions that I became dizzy, my eyes would wander right back to my guide. To his strong, broad shoulders, to the way tanned hands were clasped behind his back, to the long legs that ate two of my strides with a single one. Dressed in all black, this man was a walking sin.

"Over here, we have more bedrooms. These ones are for the guests that will join us from time to time," he explained with a vague gesture of his hand. "If you would like inspiration on decorating your own space, you are more than welcome to poke around as they are all different."

My lips remained pressed together as we progressed. Decorating was the least of my concerns at this point. Up this set of stairs, down that set of stairs, around this corner, through that door. It was a high luxury maze. And as much as I fought it, my mind got caught on the luxurious details, things that shouldn't have made me swoon, but did. Like the gold designs on the delicate wallpaper, the feel of the plush carpets beneath my slippers, the smell of the fresh greenery arrangements in every room.

The Great Hall was a massive centerpiece of the palace with lines and lines of heavy tables and stunningly intricate chairs. It must have seated over a hundred people at any given time. My entire village could have sat in here and had plenty of elbow room.

"The giant pit of flames must make it incredibly dangerous for dancing," I pointed out hotly, mostly because I refused to admit that I enjoyed any part of this place, not while my family was living in a shack. In truth, I thought that the open flame leaping in the center of the hall would make a lovely crowd pleaser where everyone could gather around and share tales, something that brought people together.

"Oh, the dancing doesn't happen here. There's a ballroom for that, of course."

"Of course," I echoed.

The ballroom was as lovely as any fairytale would describe. High ceilings, a large fireplace against the wall—much safer than in the middle of the room— tapestries filled with kings and queens and myths on every wall. Herringbone wooden floors that drew attention to the massive chandelier dangling precariously in the center of the room. I could see all of the people that belonged here. Women in stunning, glittering gowns with gemstones the size of bird eggs at their throat. Men in elegant coats with groomed hair and broad grins twirling their partners around.

And I would be at the center of it all in that midnight gown that Daisy had described to me, a handsome man twirling me. I would be a princess, a darling, absolutely fit for a king. His dark eyes would light up at my movement, his smile contagious.

But he was a vampire.

"Are you fond of dancing?" Xion asked from beside me.

"No, it's not common where I come from." It was a lie, but I did have to spend more of my free time mending clothes and fixing stews than the other girls in the village so the common dances weren't too frequent for me. In addition to this, I imagined the dances that were held here were nothing like the quaint events that got every girl within a five mile radius of my village giggling with glee.

"Well, what do you like? Surely, there is something this palace can offer that might align with your hobbies." Did he sound dejected or were my ears betraying me?

"I am not one for hobbies," I stated flatly.

He said nothing, just lead me around the rest of the palace, pausing at the kitchen where I was introduced to a couple cooks, all of whom blushed and busied themselves with work, and moving on to a room called the solarium. With dark clouds above and sleet spattering the glass -- which this room's walls and roof was made entirely of -- the space was warm. And plants that I had never seen before were growing. Things with broad leaves and even something that looked like a fruit.

"This is my favorite place," Xion began. "It reminds me of home."

So home was warm. So home had exotic plants that I had never seen before. Things that could surely never survive here.

"You aren't from here, yet you are king?" I said before I could think better of it.

It was, indeed, the wrong thing to say. Stiffness lined his shoulders and etched lines around his mouth. "Come, let us continue."

Outside, my feet were sore, but my spirits were higher. The air smelt different, felt different on my skin, heavier. The clouds seemed darker overhead, but being outside felt like I was one step closer to being home. I sucked in a deep breath, embracing it even when my delicate shoes were soiled by stepping into a freezing puddle. At least it had freezing rain had slowed to barely a trickle.

"It's a little chilly, would you like my jacket? Or maybe we should return inside and I can show you the rest of the grounds when the weather decides to cooperate?" Xion asked, already shrugging out of his coat.

"I'm perfectly well, thank you." The bumps on my arms told another story, but I stubbornly turned my head away anyway.

"Very well. Here is the hot spring. It runs through the majority of the town and the original builders used it as a focal point for the grounds. If you would like to bathe without the assistance of maids, you are welcome to come here. Most of the suites, aside from yours and my own, have windows that face the front of the palace, towards the town below so you don't have to worry about prying eyes."

"Just yours?" I asked suspiciously. I might have been a small country girl compared to him, but I was not about to give him a free show just because he offered me a roof.

"Lark, you will be little more than a speck from my windows. I would not worry if I were you," he sighed, as if my brittle words were starting to wear on him.

My only thought was to push harder. "This seems like a lot of effort to be put into a prisoner. Shouldn't I be kept underground and only shown the daylight on special occasions?"

For the briefest second, Xion closed his eyes and let a slow breath out through barely parted lips. "You are not a prisoner, Lark."

"So I may go home?"

"No."

"Then I am a prisoner, Xion."

A large hand swept over his face and dove into his hair, fingers seeming to pull the unruly strands a little harder than strictly necessary. "I will make you a deal, Lark. You will stay with me for a year and if you decide at the end of the year that you do not love me, I will have Seraphina escort you safely back to your home."

At that, I snorted out loud, though the timeline made my heart rate increase. A year. More than enough time to produce a child. Still, it was wild of him to assume that I could ever love him. Did he not realize that he was the predator I had been taught to fear since I could walk? "I will not give you a year."

"Fine, six months."

So maybe not for childbearing then?

"Two," I countered.

"Three," he shot back.

Well, there was certainly no way a child could be conceived and safely carried in that time. And there was no way that I would be falling in love with anyone in three months. It had taken me years to decide that Sampson was indeed decent enough for me and he hadn't started out by kidnapping me.

"Three months seems...reasonable," I said gently. He was thrusting his hand at me before I even finished speaking. I halfheartedly shook his hand, like we were pirates aboard a ship making some silly pact, not a girl selling three months of her life to a vampire. "You are incredibly confident, Xion. Don't think that because I'm some girl from a small village, I will fall for some pretty buildings and a nice bed to sleep in."

His grin broadened at my words; his teeth almost blinding. He clasped my hand between both of his, suddenly making me feel so tiny. "While I do hope that you are comfortable here and that you enjoy everything these pretty buildings have to offer, I am not putting my faith in that. I'm choosing to put my faith in the mate bond. Now, come along, let's go take a look at the stables."

The mouth that I had been so aware of at the beginning of the day, flopped open. 

~~~Question of the Day~~~

Is your glass half empty or half full?